Timing device



y 7, 1940- I. E. MOGEHEE 2,199,645

TIMING DEY'ICE Original F il ed April 14, 1936 ATTORNEYS.

Patented May 7, 1940 PATENT OFFICE TIMING DEVICE Ira E. McGehee, Holuton, Dex.

Application April 14, 1986, Serial No. 74382 Renewed October 5, 1939 2 Claims.

The invention relates to a timing device and particularly of the type which may be used as a parking meter.

In the parking of vehicles it is desirable to 5 have available a meter which will indicate the time that the vehicle has been parked at that particular location, or conversely, to indicate the balance of a predetermined period which remains before the owner must remove his vehicle.

A practice has arisen wherein a timing device is located closely adjacent individual parking areas and as the motorist parks his vehicle he may deposit the coin in the parking meter as a fee for the privilege of parking in that area for 1 a predetermined period of'time. The meter is arranged so that itmay be set when the coin is inserted and thereafter the balance of the period for which the occupant has made payment may be readily observed. This is necessary so that the attendant or peace oiflcer may determine whether the occupant has parked beyond the predetermined period for which he has made payment or to determine whether he is parking illegally without any payment whatever, while on the other hand the motorist may observe the balance of the period to which he is entitled after having made his payment.

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a timing device which is simple and economso ical in its construction and which will not be readily disarranged and which will render a 45 Another object of the invention is to provide a coin controlled timing device which can be renewed to initiate the running of a new period of time by the insertion of a coin.

Another object of the invention is to provide 50 a parking meter which indicates the parking period by the flow of granular material through an opening.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a coin receptacle which must be destroyed as in order to move the coin.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a coin receiving container in combination with a support through which the coin will pass into a position of safety in event the container is not in position. 6

Other and further objectsot the invention will be readily apparent when the followingdescription is considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a timing device as 10 applied toa parking meter.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a timing mechanism with certain parts broken away to illustrate the coin controlling features thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the coin re- 15 ceiver.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the coin receiver support.

In the practice of providing parking meters, the meter may be located on a business street, :0 parking lot'or any other desirable location where it is intended to collect a fee for the privilege of parking. The timing device has been particularly constructed with a view of its application to parking meters, but it is to be distinctly under- 25 stood that it can be utilized wherever a timing device of the hour glass type is desired.

In Fig. 1 a base 2 has been illustrated which serves as a support for a standard for upright 3, which in turn is provided with the cap l which so is in turn supported by the casing 5.

The casing may have transparent areas on the edges thereof as at t and upon the sides at i so. that anyone may observe the timing mechanism in the casing. I

The timing mechanism is indicated generally at ill and is in the form of a shaft ll which is rotatably mounted upon the casing 5. This shaft carries a frame I2 .which may have the lower vertical leg l3 and the upper vertical leg I 4 and the lateral leg l5. This frame is provided for the purpose of supporting the container H which may be in the form 01 a semi-circular transparent tubing which may be of glass. This tubing has formed at one end an enlargement I6 and tion for the passage of any substance from the cylinder into the globe l6.

As seen in Fig. l a body of granular material has been deposited in the cylinder 20 and is flowing by gravity into the orifice 24 as indicated by the stream of material at 25. The body of material at 26 has already passed into the orifice. While granular material has been shown, it seems obvious that a liquid of other substance may be used and the size of the orifice 24 governed accordingly. The period which will elapse while the material is flowing into the orifice 24 can be predetermined-by use of different materials by the size of the grains if a granular material is used or by varying the size of the orifice 24. In any event the parts will be so arranged and constructed that the device will be calibrated so that all of the material will pass through the orifice in a predetermined time. If the device is applied as a parking meter it may be'desirable to. have the substance flow through the orifice partition either in thirty, forty, fifty or sixty minutes, depending upon the amount of the fee which is paid for the parking privilege or upon the value or the accessibility of the parking area.

It is to be understood that the material may be of any desired color so that it can be readily observed through the transparent areas 6 or I on the casing 5 so that anyone passing the meter or timing device may ascertain the proportion of the period which remains before all of the material will have passed through the orifice. This is of advantage because in event the device is used as a parking meter the attendant or officer may ascertain whether the period for which the fee has been paid has expired or the parker may determine how much time he has left before he is required to move his vehicle.

In order that the device may be used repeatedly a coin controlled mechanism has been shown in Fig. 2. This mechanism embodies a gear 3 which is fixed on the shaft II and is arranged to mesh with a second gear 3|. The gear ratio of these gears may be 2 to 1 so that one-half turn of the gear ill will impart a full turn to the gear 30. This is desirable because a complete revolution of the container I0 is desired in order to move the material from the bottom globe l6 around through the semi-circular portion of the globe I! back into the cylinder 20 so that the operation of the device will be repeated. It will be understood that in the particular construction shown, that the container III will rotate in a clock-wise direction. The sand or granular material illustrated will fiow by gravity into the tubular portion of the container as it rotates and moves out of the globe I6. As the globe II moves to the lowermost position the granular material will fiow into this globe II. .If the rotation is cont'nued the granular material will all be trapped in the globe I1 and if any of the granularmaterial remains in the cylinder 20 it will be thus combined with the material which is passing around through the tubular portion so that all of the material will now be present in one body in the globe N. If the globe l'l moves upwardly to its original position the granular material will follow along the inside surface 32 of the globe l1 and downwardly by gravity to the cylinder 20 where it can immediately begin its flow through the orifice 24;

From the foregoing operation it seems obvious that the new occupant of the area will obtain the full advantage of the payment of his fee because all of the substance which determines the period of time for which he may use the area is all deposited in the cylinder 20, regardless of whether it had all previously passed through the orifice 24 or not.

The cylinder 20 and the globe I! may have suitable indicia thereon so that one observing the' device may determine instantly the unexpired portion of the period.

The operating mechanism includes a slot 40 into which a coin may be inserted so that it will drop by gravity into a groove 4| in the hub 42 of the shaft 43. The shaft 43 carries a handle 44 which may be grasped by the person intending to use the device, and after the coin has been inserted the handle 44 may be turned so that the coin will act to rotate the gear 3|. The hub 42 is afiixed to the gear 3| but is rotatably mounted on the shaft 43 so that the coin acts to lock the hub and shaft together and cause their rotation. As previously explained, the shaft. 43 is rotated a half revolution so that the container I0 is rotated a full revolution. When the half revolution of the shaft 43 has been effected the coin will drop by gravity from the slot 4| so that further turning of the handle 44 does not reset the timing device. A suitable stopping mechanism may be utilized to insure that the hub 42 will be retained at the proper position so that the container will be located with the cylinder 20 in a vertical position. A finger 46 moves in a groove 41 in the hub 42 and tends to expel the coin therefrom.

If the coin passes from the slot 4| it will mcve by gravity into the base 50 of the device and into a receiver 5|. This receiver is of special construction in that it has a groove 52 in the side thereof through which a pin 53 carried by the base 50 is arranged to pass. This slot 52 has an upwardly extending portion which will normally bring the receiver 5| in inward position, as seen in Fig. 2. When. however, the handle 55 is grasped and the receiver 5| is raised. the slot will move upwardly on the pin 53 until it passes into the horizontal portion of the slot upon which the receiver may be moved out of the base so that access may be had thereto. A suitable locking device 50, as seen in Fig. 1, will fit into the opening 51 in the side of the receiver.

It is intended that a receptacle may be positioned in the opening CI of the receiver and the coins will fall by gravity into this receptacle. It is often desirable to insure that none of the coins are appropriated by the employee, and to this end the receptacle 80 has been provided with a slot 82 so that the coins, once placed into the receptacle, cannot be removed. The receptacle head 61 may be of metal. whereas the lower portion 64 thereof may be made of paper or other frangible material so that it may be ruptured as at 85 in order to remove the coins. The head 63 can thus be utilized many times by pasting or fixing a new base portion 84 thereof. With this construction the collector or employee attending the device would merely open the receiver SI and remove the receptacle 60, placing a new receptacle into the position and delivering the removed receptacle to a proper cashier.

In event the employee did not insert another receptacle in the receiver 5| so as to. trap the coins, a safety feature has been provided by having a grid 86 midway of the receiver 5|. This grid serves to support the container 60, but in event no container is present the coin would pass thru the grid 66 which is formed of spaced rods into the base I! of the receptacle where they could not be removed by the attendant. The bottom of the receptacle 5| can be removable by a special key which could only be carried 5 .by the owner or inspector.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described as being a parking meter, it is contemplated that it may be used for any suitable purpose where a timing device of simple and 10 economical construction may be used.

What is claimed is:

1. A timing device comprising a transparent container having a'semi-circular tubular form, an enlarged area at each end thereof, a cylinder 15 portion connecting said ends, a restricted orifice at oneend of said cylinder, and a body of material disposed in said container and adapted to flow by gravity through said orifice during a predetermined period.

2. A timing device comprising a transparent container having a semi-circular tubular form, an enlarged area at each end thereof, a cylinder portion connecting said ends. a restricted orifice at one end of said cylinder, a body of material disposed in said container and adapted to flow by gravity through said orifice during a predetermined period, and means to rotate said container to renew the operation'thereof by replacing the material in said cylinder portion.

, IRA E. McGEI-IEE. 

